Field of the Invention
This application relates to prediction of shapes from shape models. More particularly, this application relates to predicting a patient- or case-specific shape from a statistical shape model.
Description of the Related Technology
Statistical models of shape have been used for some time to provide automated interpretation of images. The basic idea used by the models is to establish, from a training set, a pattern of “legal” variation in the shapes and spatial relationships of structures in a given class of images (the class of images may be for example face images, hand images, etc.). Statistical analysis is used to give an efficient parameterization of the pattern of legal variation, providing a compact representation of shape. The statistical analysis also provides shape constraints which are used to determine whether the shape of a structure in an analyzed image is a plausible example of the object class of interest.
A statistical shape model can be constructed by segmenting images of training shapes, which are commonly 2D or 3D shapes. Statistical shape models can be used in the medical field, in which case the images used to develop the model can be, for example, x-rays, CT scans, or MRIs. Statistical shape models can be used for a variety of medical purposes, for example to analyze the shape of a patient's anatomy, or to create a model of a patient's anatomical structure, for example to design patient-specific surgical guides.